• waigl@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Using “they” when you haven’t yet established the group you are referring to in context feels weird and kinda wrong, especially if it’s about a group of inanimate objects. It really looks like the word should have been “there”, but they just mistyped and then didn’t catch the error in the editing process or didn’t bother to correct it.

    That’s what I think is wrong here. I’m not 100% sure that this grammatically wrong, but it sure feels like it. Might depend on what the page before this one said.

    • LazaroFilm@lemmy.worldOP
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      11 months ago

      It’s in a book for 5 years old to learn to read. It’s supposed to be simple words in simple sentences. This is not it.

    • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      This is the only post in the entire thread attempting to parse the grammar.

      It feels wrong because as you pointed out, as text, the pronoun “they” has no antecedent. Who are they?

      But there is a picture, too. That’s them!

      It’s not just type, it’s typography. You have to analyze the grammar of something like one page of a picture book or a movie poster or advert in its context.